Not a Laughing Matter
What you need to know about the Ministry of Labour Occupational Health and Safety Inspections
1. They are going to happen!
2. You need to be prepared!
3. The requirements may seem daunting, but you likely have many systems in place, so relax…it will be o.k….really :-).
4. If you don’t have everything in place, that’s o.k. because you have 21 days to make any necessary corrections, but you must make those corrections. You also MUST make the corrections.
5. If you have more than 5 staff members, you are require to have a certified Health and Safety Representative (HSR). This person must volunteer and then be elected by your staff to the position.
What that means to you is that you need to ask for volunteers and then set up an election process to duly elect your HSR, (the inspectors will ask your staff if the HSR was elected, so you cannot appoint someone). The employer, the dentist,, must send the elected person to certification courses, one of which is 3-days and one is 2-days. The employee will be paid during their attendance and the doctor will pay for the course as well, $375.00 for the first part.
If you have a large office, you may need to have a Joint Health and Safety Committee. The elected officials must be representative of the clinical and management staff. The members of the Joint Health and Safety Committee must be certified Health and Safety Reps.
One of the most important components of this is to have Workplace Anti-Violence/Anti-Harassment policy in place. This is in accordance with Bill 168. This policy must be in place and posted for your staff to see.
Whew!
You may be saying, “where do I start?”. If you are, please contact me at 905-336-7624 or sandie@dentalofficeconsulting.com. I provide this information as a service to my clients, and would be happy to speak to you to let you know how I can help.
